Iran has strongly condemned the US for carrying out a nuclear test in Nevada this week, saying the move threatens world peace and shows a hypocritical set of double standards set by Washington when it comes to nuclear research.

*The Iranian Foreign Ministry said the Wednesday detonation proves that US foreign policy relies heavily on the use of nuclear weapons, disregarding UN calls for global disarmament, PressTV reports.

The experiment also drew criticism from Japan, with Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui wondering why the Obama administration carried out the test, despite saying he would “seek a nuclear-free world.”

The United States subcritical nuclear test conducted in Nevada reflects a contradictory policy on the issue of nuclear disarmament and proliferation, an expert tells Press TV.

The test, known as Pollux, was conducted in the US state of Nevada on Wednesday to ensure that Washington “can support a safe, secure and effective stockpile” of nuclear weapons.

The test proves that the US “could use nuclear weapons anytime,” said Hirotami Yamada, who heads the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivors Council.

Sorry if I did you guys like the government seems to have done the world.

On December 6, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) posted on their website that a day earlier it had conducted ‘Pollux,’ the U.S.’s 27th subcritical nuclear experiment since signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Pollux was a first-of-its-kind subcritical test involving a scale model nuclear warhead primary (this fact wasn’t mentioned in their press release).

Then again maybe this test has bigger implications as to the problem of the size of critical mass.

"subcritical test" means it was not an explosion. But it is hypocritical of the US to be doing such testing while at the same time criticizing Iran because they "might" intend to test and build their own nuclear capabilities.

The US has successfully conducted a "subcritical" nuclear test at an underground site in Nevada to study the behaviour of nuclear materials without causing an atomic explosion, authorities said.In subcritical nuclear tests, no critical mass is formed and no self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction can occur; thus, there is no nuclear explosion.
The scientific data gathered through this subcritical nuclear test called Pollux -- the 27th such experiment to date -- will provide crucial information to maintain the safety and effectiveness of US nuclear weapons, National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said in a statement yesterday.
"Challenging subcritical experiments maintain our capabilities to ensure that we can support a safe, secure and effective stockpile without having to conduct underground testing," NNSA Administrator Thomas D'Agostino said.The previous subcritical experiment, Barolo B, was conducted on February 2, 2011.
"Diagnostic equipment fielded by our scientists resulted in more data collected in this single experiment than all other previous subcritical experiments," said NNSA Deputy Administrator for Defence Programmes Don Cook.
"This type of data is critical for ensuring our computer simulations can accurately predict performance, and thus continued confidence in the safety and effectiveness of the nation's stockpile," he said.
NNSA said subcritical experiments examine the behaviour of plutonium as it is strongly shocked by forces produced by chemical high explosives.